[jtone]

Hello. A friend of mine had a very expensive LCD TV that had a USB port where you could connect a USB key to play media. After a while the USB port became unresponsive/failed and it doesn't seem to be something that can repaired. I just bought a similarly expensive TV (different brand than his) and have the following questions re: how I might extend the life of a USB port/avoid failure:

1. I have a male/female USB extender cable. I could permanently plug the male end of the cable into the female USB port on the back of the TV and then just use the cable female end to interact with USB devices. By doing this I assume I would prolong the life of the TV’s female USB input port because I would avoid frequently plugging/unplugging USB devices into the TV port itself. I assume friction/overuse is what cause many USB ports to fail – am I correct?

2. Are USB ports (like the female port in my TV) always “on / powered up”? I assume they are, but if they are NOT and I have a USB extender cable always plugged into the port (making it “alive”) then does my solution above in #1 actually cause more harm than good because keeping the extender cable always in causes the female TV port to always be on?

Feedback appreciated – thanks!

[mjd420nova]

Normally, having an extender cable plugged into a USB port without a device on the other end will not make the port active. Mounting a jack and cable to the port and providing some usupport to the cable will relieve the stree placed on the jack and forestall a failure of the connector jack. When dealing with devices that need power from the USB port, I use a powered hub to eliminate the possible failure of the port driver chip due to excess current draw.